“The two individuals thus addressed were just in the act of conveying a tray of glasses and a spiced round of beef for supper into the mess-room; and as I may remark that they fully entered into the feelings of jealousy their respective masters professed, each eyed the other with a look of very unequivocal dislike.

“‘Arrah! you needn’t be pushing me that way,’ said Pat, ‘an’ the round o’ beef in my hands.’

“‘Devil’s luck to ye, it’s the glasses you’ll be breaking with your awkward elbow!’

“‘Then, why don’t ye leave the way? Ain’t I your suparior?’

“‘Ain’t I the captain’s own man?’

“‘Ay, and if you war. Don’t I belong to his betters? Isn’t my master the two liftenants?’

“This, strange as it may sound, was so far true, as I held a commission in an African corps, with my lieutenancy in the 5th.

“‘Be-gorra, av he was six—There now, you done it!’

“At the same moment, a tremendous crash took place and the large dish fell in a thousand pieces on the pavement, while the spiced round rolled pensively down the yard.

“Scarcely was the noise heard when, with one vigorous kick, the tray of glasses was sent spinning into the air, and the next moment the disputants were engaged in bloody battle. It was at this moment that our attention was first drawn towards them, and I need not say with what feelings of interest we looked on.

Commentary: Another Illustration for an Interpolated Tale

At least the after-dinner anecdote suggests a developing relation between Captain Power and Cornet O'Malley since they are now addressing each other by their Christian names. The military anecdote itself, however, merely entertains and does nothing to advance the plot. The circle of officers gathered around the mess table on the transport bound for Lisbon includes a figure whom Lever will feature prominently in the forthcoming chapters, the bibulous Major Monsoon, who agrees to tell his own amusing story about his wine celler in Jerez only if Fred Power agrees to "lead the way."

Power entertains his fellow officers with a humorous military anecdote; seated around the table are the inebriated Cornet Sparks, the convivial Major Monsoon, the reflective Cornet O'Malley, the adjutant, the skipper, the ship's doctor, and the narrator, Fred Power. The general subject of the table-talk is alcoholic consumption, especially Irish whiskey punch. But now Power sets his tale in an "infernal," dull, Irish posting, "where there is neither a pretty face nor light ankle" (164) and little social life: "the Bog of Allen," Philipstown. In this situation so conducive to ennui after four months and lacking even access to newspapers and sporting events, all Power and his associates had to wrangle over was the relative merits and demerits of their mutual servants, whom they absurdly derided every evening in the mess-room with such terms as "savage" and "Hottentot" (165). The arrival of an elderly traveller sparks a debate between the officers Tom O'Reilly and Fred Power as to which of their Irish flunkies, Jem or Pat, is better suited to address the stiff-looking gentleman in order to ascertain his identity.

In Phiz's illustration, things go awry as Pat and Jem are in the act of conveying a round of drinks and a roast of beef into the mess room. The upsetting of the tumblers and crashing to the ground of the platter occasion a donnybrook as the officers in full uniform (rear right) regard the contretemps with some amusement from the dining-table. Although he cannot communicate the rich Irish brogue of the flunkies, Phiz establishes their irate, flashy characters by their ornate uniforms (including breeches and waistcoats), vigorous actions, and flexible postures. The broken platter and roast are already on the floor, but the tumblers are still falling off the tray as Pat holds a broken piece of the china platter aloft, as if brandishing it at his antagonist. As yet, their masters are still engaged observers rather than accidental combatants who face court-martial for brawling as the elderly traveller turns out to be a General.

Necessary Background

• Charles Lever's Charles O'Malley, The Irish Dragoon (1840-41)

Bibliography

Lever, Charles. Charles O'Malley, The Irish Dragoon. "Edited by Harry Lorrequer." Dublin: William Curry, Jun. London: W. S. Orr, 1841. 2 vols.

Lever, Charles. Charles O'Malley, The Irish Dragoon. Illustrated by Phiz [Hablot Knight Browne]. Published serially in The Dublin University Magazine from Vol. XV (March 1840) through XVIII (December 1841). Dublin: William Curry, March 1840 through December 1841. London: Samuel Holdsworth, 1842; rpt., Chapman and Hall, 1873.

Lever, Charles. Charles O'Malley, The Irish Dragoon. Illustrated by Phiz [Hablot Knight Browne]. Novels and Romances of Charles Lever. Vol. I and II. In two volumes. Project Gutenberg. Last Updated: 2 September 2016.

Steig, Michael. Chapter Two: "The Beginnings of 'Phiz': Pickwick, Nickleby, and the Emergence from Caricature." Dickens and Phiz. Bloomington: Indiana U. P., 1978. Pp. 24-50.

Stevenson, Lionel. Chapter V, "Renegade from Physic, 1839-1841." Dr. Quicksilver: The Life of Charles Lever. London: Chapman and Hall, 1939. Pp. 73-93.

Created 8 March 2023